Explosive



Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

TENNEY L. DAVIS. OF SOMERVILLE. MASSACHUSETTS.

EXPLOSIVE.

No Drawing.

(GRANTED UNDER THE ACT 0? T0 (ZZZ 10710721, 2'25 may concern Be it known that I. TnxXnY L. Dxvis, a citizen of the United States. and a resident of Somerville, county oi? Middlcsex. and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Explosives, of which the following is a specification.

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any oi its ofli-' cers or employees in prosecution of work for the Governmennor by any other person in the United States, without payment to me of any royalty thereon, in accordance with the act of March 3, 1883.

The subject of this invention is an explo sive.

The main object of the invention is the provision of a high explosive suitable for use in boosters, reinforced detonators, detonating fuses, primer caps and as a high explosive either alone or in mixtures with the various substances commonly used in high explosives.

The invention consists specifically. ol :1 new explosive substance, namely, hexanitrocarbanilide, which may also be properly designated hexanitrodiphenylurea, or symmetrical di-picryl-u'rea.

This substance may be prepared by the nitration of earbanilide in one step or in more than one. Carbanilide, formerly prepared by a dangerous process which made use of phosgene, may now be prepared more readily and more simply by a process which I have recently studied which consists in the heating together of aniline and-urea.

Application filed March 8, 1924.

pale Serial No. 697.948.

MARCH 3, 1883'. 22 STAT. L. 625.)

1 do not wish to claim any particular proc ess tor the preparation of this explosive for each step in its preparation involves well known chemical procedures.

Pure hexanitrocarbanilide consists of yellow crystals which soften at 204 and melt with decomposition at 208 to 209 C. It yields picric acid when boiled with dilute sulphuric acid and trinitroaniline when boiled with strong ammonia water. It contains 23.25% nitrogen. It is a powerful and brisant high explosive suitable for use in boosters, reinforced detonators, detonating fuses, primer caps, etc, and it may be used alone or in mixtures with other substances for the arious purposes to which a high explosive is adapted, as, for example, trinitrotoluene, tetryl, picric acid, etc.

0.19 gram of mercury tnlminate is required for the detonation of 0.4 gram of hexanitrocarbanilide. The sand test. carried out in the standard manner specified by the U. S. Korean of Mines. gave a fignrc 36.6}, slightly better than was given by trinitrotoluene under the same conditions. The drop test was 13 inches, about the same as tetryl, and the temperature of spontaneous explosion was 23-15 (W. as compared with 260 t'or t'etryl by the same method.

I claim:

1. An explosive composition having: as one of its elements hexanitrocarlmnilide.

2. As an explosive. hexanitrocarbanilide TENN EY L. DAVIS. 

